Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Regardless of how the next three months play out, Erik Hassle's "Hurtful" is going to go down as one of our absolute favorite singles of the year and Penguin Prison as one of our most exciting new prospects for 2010. Thus, we can barely contain our excitement at the beautiful union of the two on this here remix supporting the upcoming UK single release of "Hurtful". As usual, Penguin takes the blueprint laid down on the original and drops a choice groove over it, taking it from the pop charts to indie discos with athletic ease. He's a special guy, that Penguin Prison.

In other news, the wonderful Huw Stephens will be premiering "Under The Sheets", the massive debut single from Ellie Goulding (out on Neon Gold in November) on Radio 1 tonight. EXCITED MUCH? Tune in here from 9pm GMT for all the glory.

Friday, September 25, 2009

Due to unforeseen manufacturing delays, our hotly-anticipated single with Little Red won't be hitting shelves until next week, but to reward your patience we've put the brilliant AA-side track "It's Alright" up for exclusive download below. We've hailed the record as a double A-side from the start, but "It's Alright" has surprised even us with the celerity with which it's emerged as the single's spotlight track.

With resounding support from XFM and Zane Lowe, its carefree Beach Boys meets The Strokes vibe has swiftly established Little Red as one of the most talked about new bands of the year, their exquisite brand of doo-wop guitar pop setting them apart from their contemporaries in a year where one has to wade through an endless sea of synths and electronics* to find a new guitar band actually worth writing home about. 2010 looks primed to usher in the return of guitars and indie however, and you should fully expect Little Red to be at the forefront of the resurgence. The song's title really sells them short, Little Red are way more than just alright.

The Coca Cola/It's Alright 7" is available next week from the Neon Gold Shop in the US and Puregroove for our international customers.

Monday, September 21, 2009

The Sound of Arrows are pop geniuses. We've said it before and we'll say it again, in regards not only to their music, but the otherworldly aesthetic they've so thoroughly mastered in their art direction and music videos as well. The original video for "Into The Clouds" was already one of the year's best, but they've already gone and outdone themselves with its follow up, an absolutely brilliant video for the sublime Fear of Tigers remix that shines on the single's B-side.

Culled from footage from 1985's Explorers (starring a young Ethan Hawke) and 1986's The Boy Who Could Fly, the video is the perfect visual companion to the synth fireworks Fear of Tigers sets off throughout the track and the Hollywood ending that climaxes around the video's two and a half minute mark is one of the best things we've ever seen in a music video, period. Just another reason why Sound of Arrows are truly one of the most special bands in the world right now. The Into The Clouds 12" is available now from the Neon Gold Shop (US) and Puregroove (UK) and is going fast, so don't sleep.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Between his masterful remix of Marina's "I Am Not A Robot" and his brilliant debut single "Animal Animal" (out on Neon Gold in November), Penguin Prison has been stirring things up quite a bit recently and he shows no sign of letting up anytime soon. Hot off the press is this shit-hot Penguin remix of Golden Silvers' lavish anthem "True Romance", on which he transposes the brilliant original onto a pulsating electronic canvas and washes the "ooh ooh ooh ooh" backing vox across the mix with an eerie, haunted house expansiveness. Then that damn-the-torpedoes synth solo drops by to cause some trouble around the 1:45 mark and it's all pretty much game over from there.

Golden Silvers are headlining this fall's amazing NME Radar Tour with none other than Neon Gold darlings Marina & The Diamonds and Yes Giantess supporting. Throw Local Natives into the mix and you've got the makings of the tour of the year. Get ready for the takeover.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

We’re back in NYC for our final year of uni with more time to care for the blog than we’ve had while in London over the past few months, so we’re able to take a look back at some of the things we’ve loved all summer but just haven’t had the time to show love to.

Enter The Drums, a band we’ve been spinning since they initially sent ripples through the industry with their NYC live debut at Popfest last May. They’re just now breaking into the tastemaker consciousness with their debut single out on Moshi Moshi now and their Summertime! mini-album to follow next month, and the blogs are abuzz with praise for their breezy summer anthem “Let’s Go Surfing”. It’s the logical single for them given their SURF 4 LIFE aesthetic and their sunny Floridian heritage, but it’s unheralded demo “Me And The Moon” that’s got our hearts aflutter. With no foreseeable release (it’s been left off both the single and upcoming mini-album) we fear it may never see the light of day, so enjoy it below and watch the band take off in the months to come.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Word on the street was bangers are dead, but it seems Mille didn't get the memo. Coming off like the blue-eyed love child of Ratatat and Danger, Mille's synthed-out masterpiece "Crysteena" is a proper top down summertime JAM and we fucking love it. Look for him to start killing it in the remix game in the months to come, but for now feast your ears on "Crysteena" and get lost in the wrinkle in time that is its chiptune brilliance and commodore 64'd-out synth nostalgia.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Twelve months ago to the day we bundled up a bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 7” record by a band called Passion Pit and brought it into the world for all to enjoy. That magical slice of blissed-out dance pop has long since sold out and today marks the one year birthday of Neon Gold Records, and what better way to celebrate then by a very special ninth release on Neon Gold by the pop wizards that are Swedish pop duo The Sound of Arrows. We posted their most recent Sweden-only release “M.A.G.I.C.” last month to rapturous response, and now we’re ready to bring their international debut “Into The Clouds” to the masses as our first ever 12” release.

That’s not say we’ll be abandoning the 7” format that’s been so good to us thus far, but every so often a record comes along featuring sleeve art so beautiful it really deserves the widescreen 12” treatment. That’s absolutely the case here, as Oskar and Stephan have put together some of the most breathtaking artwork ever to adorn a Neon Gold release, accompanied by a magnificent video (below) in the same vein that they've (of course) directed and animated themselves.

Backed by an ambient instrumental edit of the title track “…And Beyond” and remixes from the likes of Fear of Tigers and Gold Dust, this is a very special release for us and we can't wait for it to hit shops September 28th. Preorder is available now from your usual outlets, Puregroove in the UK and the Neon Gold Shop in the US.

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

We first introduced you to the pop magician that is NYC's Penguin Prison last month by way of his magnificent remix of Marina & The Diamonds' "I Am Not A Robot", but now its time to crane your neck to marvel at the brilliant heights reached by his very own original material. His remixes ably establish him as one of the most exciting new production talents in the game, but its his songwriting and vocal abilities that make him stand out as the total package, a one man pop machine on the precipice of absurdly great things. "Animal Animal" is his first offering and a mighty fine one at that, bouncing along on a playful mix of buoyant synths, sunny melodies and fantastical ambition. It'll be finding it's way in to the world as one half of a rather exciting AA-side single this autumn on Neon Gold, but we just couldn't wait that long to share it's sublime pleasures with you here. We're pretty sure the internet's not ready, but here goes nothing.